My Thoughts On Windows 10 Now

In the early days I made it quite clear that I did not like Win 10 and that I'd stick with Win 8.1 because it is fast, stable and reliable. In fact, I'm still using 8.1 on my main rig and am happy with the choice to remain with it. However, I have Win 10 0n my HP 2-in1 and like it much better now that I've tweaked it to suit my likes and needs. In some cases I used 3rd-party apps to achieve the desired result, but often times I could adjust things in 'Settings' to apply my personal preferences.

In a nutshell, I like Win 10 better than when it was first released. With my own tweaks and some Windows updates, 10 is a more usable OS and subsequently is getting better all the time. Is it my favourite OS of all time? No, and it may never be, but I have learnt to co-exist with it and find a happy medium. It isn't all the way there yet, but I have high hopes that 10 will be made better, either through Windows Update and/or 3rd-party programmes. Heck, I may even install it on my main rigs some time further down the track.

I downloaded a PDF for a friend. Naturally Edge's face was plastered all over it. Clicking on it and edge opens it. Ok...no problem...except when it came to printing it out. First time it was a no go. Failed to send to the printer. Second time it worked, somewhat. Document printed but the text was barely readable. So...I opened it in Chrome instead. First time it worked and the text was normal. Chrome 1...Edge...meh.

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If Windows 10 was Windows 8.1 + Start8 + ModernMix it would be acceptable, even with cumulative updates.

What about "production OS" quality (set and forget)?. Schedule restarts? MS thinks everything is a smartphone...

I totally agree and my feedback says exactly that. I have a Windows 10 phone which works fine and I don't care about automatic updates as I do not use it for productivity. At least it's not filled up with a lot of bloatware.

However, the PC side of things is another matter. Those of us who use Windows Pro are no longer notified before updates are installed. It does not matter if we are in the middle of an important task. The updates install anyway - even for insiders. For now, I have blocked all updates so I can look at them before allowing them to install. They keep messing up my Wi Fi and some other things including drivers. At this point, I've spent more time under hood with Windows 10 than I did with ME. The only thing that makes it palatable is 3rd party software. Every single build has taken away permissions we have always had in the past. As you pointed out, a PC is NOT a phone and the two should not be treated the same way. MANY people are upset with Microsoft's behavior but they are not listening to their customers. Group Policy Editor no longer allows us to be in charge of our computers. They go in under the guise of "maintenance" and replace it with a "newer" version that takes away our ability to manage our own PC and allows them to run updates whenever they like.

In the latest build, they removed the Settings icon from the task bar. The only thing left is the Notifications icon to let you know they just updated your computer! I am actually considering going back to either 7 or 8.1 BUT in the next year or so I will be upgrading to a new computer which will come with Windows 10 so not sure what my next move will be. My only solution may be to go with Linux. Hoping things get better before then but I won't hold my breath.

It doesn't say much for an OS if you have to spend a lot of your time tweaking it all the time to make it do what you want. It's kind of like buying a new car and always having to send it to the shop to have it altered and adjusted to fit your needs all the time. Where's the joy in that ? I abandoned Windows 10 just for that reason. I'm running Windows 7 because it runs and performs as reliably and dependably as my old 1989 Dodge Dakota. It may not be new, but that is where the joy is at. --Ace ---

It doesn't say much for an OS if you have to spend a lot of your time tweaking it all the time to make it do what you want. It's kind of like buying a new car and always having to send it to the shop to have it altered and adjusted to fit your needs all the time. Where's the joy in that ? I abandoned Windows 10 just for that reason. I'm running Windows 7 because it runs and performs as reliably and dependably as my old 1989 Dodge Dakota. It may not be new, but that is where the joy is at. --Ace ---

LOL I had an old Dodge too and loved it. Her name was Valerie. It's been very frustrating using Windows 10 - not because the OS is that bad but because of Microsoft's behavior. One woman in Florida sued them and was awarded $10,000.00 for the damage they did to her computer. The big problem has been that Microsoft is not backward compatible in terms of drivers. They want their drivers to run on all computers. Fortunately, I saved all of the latest drivers for this PC so I can reinstall them. At this point, if I go back to Windows 7, it will be pretty messy but it is supposed to be supported until 2020 so may be worth the hassle. I used to trust Microsoft but now it's pretty much gone. Having Windows Pro is supposed to give us more tools to customize the computer but with every new build Microsoft reduces our ability to do that.

A possible solution to the Windows 10 Automatic Update issue. Please note that I am using Windows 10 Pro so no idea if this will work for the Home version. It is not a good idea to turn updates off completely but we can no longer have Windows wait to download and install them using the old method.

But...there is a way to keep Windows Updates on without them being automatically installed. I found this on Windows Club. Now I have to hope it actually still works. Windows 10 updates can be set to Manual. That means the user has to be responsible enough to check for new updates. For me, that makes a huge difference because I can save my work, disconnect from sensitive sites and then run the needed updates AFTER verifying exactly what they are for. What I still cannot prevent is "Maintenance" which can also mess things up. IF the Manual setting works, I may be able to stand Windows 10. Fingers Crossed!

Other than a few niggles with the anniversary update (see elsewhere), W10 is ok for me too. Parts of it still look as though they were designed by an infant though.

Yes, the look of 10 is bloody awful, and frankly, an infant could have done better. Thank goodness for 3rd-parties like Stardock and the tools they create to fix MS' sad, sad efforts. Seriously, the default start menu, icons and GUI are quite ugly, so without Start10, Iconpackager and Windowblinds, I'd have stripped 10 off this machine and installed a version of Linux, OS-X.... even fechen Android, rather than go to bed every night after 10 and having Fisher Price related nightmares

Nope! It is me, and you read it right. Now that I've tweaked 10 to my liking I like it better than before. I'm not saying it is the best thing since sliced bread, but it is more usable now. Admittedly, I used some 3rd party apps to get where I wanted it to be, cos 10 out of the box is a real pig, but I see fixing core issues that way as being no different to using Stardock apps to make the GUI more appealing, and I can live with it.

A possible solution to the Windows 10 Automatic Update issue. Please note that I am using Windows 10 Pro so no idea if this will work for the Home version. It is not a good idea to turn updates off completely but we can no longer have Windows wait to download and install them using the old method.

But...there is a way to keep Windows Updates on without them being automatically installed. I found this on Windows Club. Now I have to hope it actually still works. Windows 10 updates can be set to Manual. That means the user has to be responsible enough to check for new updates. For me, that makes a huge difference because I can save my work, disconnect from sensitive sites and then run the needed updates AFTER verifying exactly what they are for. What I still cannot prevent is "Maintenance" which can also mess things up. IF the Manual setting works, I may be able to stand Windows 10. Fingers Crossed!

I was going to post a link to this myself, given the many who have issues with forced updates and crap they don't want or need. Anyway, you beat me to it and provided some info, thank you. I've been using this app for a while now and it does as is advertised... gives back control over Windows Update to the user. As for 'Scheduled Maintenance' that is still an issue I've not had any luck finding a 3rd-party fix for as yet, though I've not had any problems with it of late.... touch wood.

I have found some useful apps for Win 10 on Major Geeks. Some I've tried, others I haven't, but it's worth a look. okay.

What I still cannot prevent is "Maintenance" which can also mess things up.

What I forgot to mention in the above post is that I shut down my internet connection when I turn off my machine, in the hope I circumvent the 3.00am Scheduled Maintenance. I've not noticed anything unusual or untoward of late, so maybe that works. Well I hope it does!

For me personally , it is so very depressing that Microsoft has devolved into a second rate company with second rate designers and developers. What happened to them since Bill Gates has left ? I use to admire them for their great systems at one time.....Win95 ,Win98 SE, XP , Win 7 to name a few. Now it just seems we get one trash system after another. It is so very sad. ---Ace --

I totally agree, LightStar. I wish Microsoft had simply tightened up security for Windows 7. I loved Windows 7 and, as I mentioned before, I purchased it before it was released. I did some beta testing on Windows 7 and loved it right from the start. Windows 10 has been an adventure. One can only hope things start to smooth out. There is a big announcement coming on Oct 26th and it appears to be about Windows 10. I am hoping they are not going to mess with the kernel again. If they do, I will need to make a difficult decision.

Having said that, I now have a Windows 10 phone. I was using a pricey LG G4 (Android) and I couldn't stand the bloat anymore. Google kept dumping "updates" aka more junk on it all the time and the phone's battery life was awful because of that - and you can disable the apps but you cannot uninstall them. I found a refurbished Nokia Lumia 735 on eBay from a reputable seller and grabbed it for $89.95 (much better than $600.00 for the G4). It came with Windows 8.1 which wasn't bad. As soon as I got it up and running, it upgraded to Windows 10.

I actually like Windows 10 on the Nokia phone much better than I do on my PC. It works well and has none of the bloat like I had with the G4. The Lumia 735 got middling reviews with Windows 8.1 but it's getting very good reviews running Windows 10. It's not a fancy phone but the darned thing works and I am getting a better signal and much better battery life. You can order a brand new Lumia 735 from Verizon (not sure who else has them) for $120.00. BTW Nokia has announced that they will be building phones again. They will be built by Foxconn who makes the Apple phones. It sounds as though they will be Android but fingers crossed that they will do some Windows phones in the future.

In case some of you haven't heard, the Google Play store has approx 400 apps that contain malware. I am sure they are working on the problem but if you have installed games, etc. you might want to make sure they are clean. Ars Technica has a good article on the issue. Ironically, the article came out right after I got the Lumia 735. My G4 is clean though.

Concerning my previous post about turning off Windows 10 updates, I decided to change them to "manual" instead. The screen shows updates as "triggered." That means I have to check for updates which is fine. Please note that I do not know for sure if it will actually work. Patch Tuesday is coming up so I will let everyone know how that goes.

A possible solution to the Windows 10 Automatic Update issue. Please note that I am using Windows 10 Pro so no idea if this will work for the Home version. It is not a good idea to turn updates off completely but we can no longer have Windows wait to download and install them using the old method.

But...there is a way to keep Windows Updates on without them being automatically installed. I found this on Windows Club. Now I have to hope it actually still works. Windows 10 updates can be set to Manual. That means the user has to be responsible enough to check for new updates. For me, that makes a huge difference because I can save my work, disconnect from sensitive sites and then run the needed updates AFTER verifying exactly what they are for. What I still cannot prevent is "Maintenance" which can also mess things up. IF the Manual setting works, I may be able to stand Windows 10. Fingers Crossed!

I was going to post a link to this myself, given the many who have issues with forced updates and crap they don't want or need. Anyway, you beat me to it and provided some info, thank you. I've been using this app for a while now and it does as is advertised... gives back control over Windows Update to the user. As for 'Scheduled Maintenance' that is still an issue I've not had any luck finding a 3rd-party fix for as yet, though I've not had any problems with it of late.... touch wood.

I have found some useful apps for Win 10 on Major Geeks. Some I've tried, others I haven't, but it's worth a look. okay.

Thanks so mych, Starkers. I missed your post earlier today. I am relieved to hear that the solution to automatic updates works. I haven't found a way to stop maintenance issues either - at least not yet. Hoping for a reg hack one of these days. I will check out Major Geeks as I haven't been there for a while.

I haven't found a way to stop maintenance issues either - at least not yet. Hoping for a reg hack one of these days

When I log off for the night I shut my internet down before Scheduled Maintenance is due to start at 3.00am, which seems to work. Well I've seen no changes that I didn't know about. I too hope for a registry edit or a 3rd-party app to fix the issue properly. It would save having to reboot my modem/router every morning. Some people may think that's paranoid and going overboard, but after MS totally borked my machine 3 times with unwanted, unnecessary and flawed updates, it makes sense to me to take every precaution to safeguard MY machine.

The last time they messed it up I couldn't get into anything... no Windows, no recovery options. Apart from the BIOS, everything was frozen, all because of an overnight update I neither scheduled or gave permissions for. I took me hours to recover my machine, but not until I was forced to reformat the drive and perform a clean install of Win 10, meaning I lost everything from the previous installation. Luckily I keep nothing of importance on it, so no major loss, just a huge, huge inconvenience. The same thing happened to mrs_starkers machine, so I'm out a day because MS feched up.

No, users should not have to go to such extremes to safeguard their machines and wrest back some control, but MS forced the issue with some shoddy decisions and shonky software/updates. Win 10 could have been a great OS, and it would have been if MS hadn't assassinated it well before it came out of the box for users to try.

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